Roy Lang III: Tech gets busted

Bulldogs lose out on bowl bid

Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes and the Bulldogs end their season at 9-3.

Merry Christmas, Quinton Patton. And Colby Cameron. And Ryan Allen. Even though you proved you were some of the best in the country at your positions, you will be idle for the next five weeks while roughly 7,000 other college football players complete their 2012 seasons - some their careers - in a bowl game.

The aforementioned Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and their teammates were robbed of one final opportunity to gather together and proudly wear red and blue - a priceless gift for a college athlete no matter their future. The Bulldogs were jilted by an administration that, this week, may have lost a game of tic-tac-toe if given the first three moves.

The combination of arrogance, poor judgment and a dose of bad luck left the 9-3 Bulldogs, the nation's No. 1 offense, home for the holidays. Despite one of the best seasons in school history, Tech is one of two of the 72 bowl-eligible teams that won't play again.

Three weeks ago, Louisiana Tech controlled its BCS destiny but lost its final two games. This week, Tech again controlled its destiny but gambled with it. All the wonderful attention the Bulldogs garnered over 12 games was soured by an unthinkable mistake.

The Huskies' inclusion in the Orange Bowl set off a chain of events that caught the Bulldogs with their pants down.

"No, I never thought Northern Illinois would get selected into the BCS over the University of Oklahoma - not in my wildest dreams," Louisiana Tech athletic director Bruce Van De Velde told The Times. "With who those two teams played - it shows you exactly what's wrong with the BCS. A program with the history, and the schedule they play, losing out to Northern Illinois."

Van De Velde believed that eliminated the possibility of a BCS buster. However, it only took browsing the internet, watching television or reading the newspaper or looking at the BCS standings to realize the Huskies had a chance - albeit predicted slim by some.

However, Louisiana Tech had long been enamored with the Heart of Dallas and Liberty Bowls and didn't pay much attention to the Independence Bowl. It's hard to argue this logic - there is no problem with wanting the best for your program.However, every Plan A and B must have a Plan C.

The worst-case scenario is putting all your eggs in certain baskets and not having a safety net. That's inexcusable.

The Independence Bowl wanted ACC and SEC teams, but long before the season ended, bowl officials did their due diligence. In the end they scouted or communicated with no less than six conferences, preparing for every scenario.

Tech took an interesting, and perhaps ultimately damaging, approach to the I-Bowl while it appeared its options were plentiful. Approximately a week ago, the school indicated it wasn't interested in a game with a Sun Belt team. Tech then said the only matchup that would work would be one against Louisiana-Monroe (van de Velde denies both claims). Van de Velde doesn't deny contacting the I-Bowl later in the week to say Tech "would play anyone," and neither does the I-Bowl.

Why would he reach out to say they'd be open to any matchup if he didn't think the Independence Bowl had a different idea?

Anyway, the stage was then set for a Tech-ULM showdown.

However, when the game was offered to Tech on Saturday, Van De Velde expressed the desire to consult with Tech president Dan Reneau and head coach Sonny Dykes.

"We conferred with our administration with our football program and decided we think these are opportunities that only come around once in a while," Van De Velde said. "There is a natural progression - we've been to the Independence Bowl, we played in the Poinsettia Bowl last year and now we have an opportunity to play on January 1st - we should take that opportunity.

"We did not decline, we asked for time."

Consequently, the I-Bowl countered with a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

Tech left it.

"We asked (Tech) several times," I-Bowl chairman Jack Andres said. "Tech's had a great season. We love Tech. We wrote letters for them to get into Conference USA.

"Extra effort? When somebody doesn't want to do that - coach Dykes made that pretty obvious on his TV announcement - and we understand why they want to go to a bigger bowl. They had a great year. We were pulling for them. As far as extra effort, we worked with them the best we could."

Van De Velde believes the request to wait until Sunday wasn't outrageous.

"I was factoring the capital we had built up with the city and the bowl," Van De Velde said. "Ohio University would have been there waiting for them Sunday night, but they chose them over a school in-state - a school that takes their home games and plays them in that city."

Thanks to prior networking, the I-Bowl was able to quickly work out a deal with the MAC, so the I-Bowl wouldn't be forced to choose from a possible trio of 6-6 (or worse) teams.

One thing is for certain: The Bulldogs deserved a bowl. No, the list of wins wasn't exactly stellar (no victory over team with a winning FBS record), but the losses weren't exactly duds. Texas A&M, Utah State and San Jose State all finished in the top 25 and will play in bowl games.

Tech supporters wouldn't fill a stadium, but they wouldn't come empty handed, either. And, outside of Johnny Football and his crew, how many teams are more exciting to watch? Even the FBS-worst defense made for exciting games.

"Under no circumstances did I ever think there was any possibility at all that we would not play in a bowl game," Dykes said in a statement. "It is a shame that our nationally recognized team and its 31 seniors have to end the season this way."

Just this year, Cameron set the NCAA record for most consecutive passes without an interception, Patton hauled in 104 passes while freshman teammate Kenneth Dixon set a record with 27 rushing touchdowns.

Fortunately, Dixon will be back - although he won't have an opportunity to improve on this record-breaking season.

Van De Velde maintains he never "declined" an offer, but the battle of semantics is lost on Tech's seniors. The fact is Louisiana Tech was offered an I-Bowl matchup with ULM, and it didn't happen. How folks decide to connect the dots is inconsequential.

On one fateful day, thanks to the biggest local sports blunder in recent memory, an entire nation was reminded the school in Ruston is still Louisiana Tech. Despite the strides made this year, the Bulldogs didn't have the clout they think they do. Not just yet.

Van De Velde isn't worried about the fallout. He says his reputation and that of his program and administration shouldn't be affected.

"It's the BCS that chose to take Northern Illinois over the University of Oklahoma, who could predict that?" van de Velde said. "It's not personal. It's just something that occurred. We made the decisions together and we stand by the decisions together. We have a great program and a great university. We'll move forward. Better days are ahead."

However, the Bulldogs felt ULM, and the I-Bowl to an extent, were inferior. And now it's impossible to deny the PR nightmare and effects on recruiting are far more damaging than any worst-case scenario on the field against the Warhawks.

As I stated in this paper after the Texas A&M game and the Utah State game, Louisiana Tech is oh-so close to taking that next step. Unfortunately, the program was handed a heartbreaking reality check Sunday. Surely, the school has an idea now. But for a talented and deserving Class of 2013, it's too late.

"We are deeply disappointed for them," van de Velde said. "The seniors are taking it hard, the whole team is taking it hard. They know they have something to work for next year. We feel bad for those young men."

Connect with Roy Lang III on Twitter at @RoyLangIII.

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Roy Lang III: Tech gets busted

Merry Christmas, Quinton Patton. And Colby Cameron. And Ryan Allen. Even though you proved you were some of the best in the country at your positions, you will be idle for the next five weeks while